MESSAGE

"Remember that your ancestors were strangers in the land of Egypt for four hundred years." That simple statement in the Bible bears among the most important messages of the Passover story, from which we at JOI draw special meaning because our central mission is that of welcoming interfaith families into the Jewish community. Remembering the bitterness of estrangement in the land of our people's ancient captivity, we seek in the symbols of Passover the means to welcome all our brothers and sisters as well as their spouses and children, be they of the Jewish faith or not. We hope that your experience of this Passover will be one of inclusion, and we hope that these pages will add to your sense of belonging to rich ancient heritage.

[a] We do not make a fetish of numbers. But. The number "4" is obviously an important mnemonic. It is the recurring symbol in the four cups of wine, the four questions asked by the youngest child at the seder, the four types of children whose prototypical questions the Haggadah means to answer, and the four core symbols of the seder table: the Paschal lamb, the matzoh, the bitter herbs and the mortar-like charoseth. It also evokes for us the special four-fold dimensions of time.

[b] The admonition to remember evokes in us the obligation that each generation bears to both its forebears and to its descendants: to link past, present and future ... and thereby to pass on the heritage borne of memory. The link between those three dimensions of time produces the fourth dimension: eternity. What better way is there for each person to be a part of eternity than as a bearer of heritage, passing it on from one generation to the next.

[c] Of all the things we might have been bidden to remember, it is interesting that we are bidden by the Bible to remember that our ancestors were strangers. That memory, perhaps more than anything else, is meant to teach us the essence of our religion: empathy, compassion and responsibility for those who are in need. Thus, we begin the core recitation of the Haggadah with an invitation: "Let all those who are hungry come and partake." In this age of cyber-space, we offer this Passover page to all who are hungry for the richness of the Jewish heritage. Please partake freely of all that we have prepared for your intellectual as well as emotional stimulation.